The manufacture of tires involves the production of a blank containing in particular raw rubber. The blank is subjected to a curing stage for the vulcanization of the rubber. After curing, it is often necessary for the casings produced in this way to be stored temporarily, for example for the purpose of grouping them by model or by series for dispatch to the client. In fact, a single factory will generally produce different models of tires. It can also happen that tires which are not part of the same series and the same model are cured during the same period. It is therefore necessary to store them temporarily before collecting them together for dispatch.
Storage takes place, for example, in stores containing inclined channels. An entry conveyor places a casing in one of the channels. The casing is then displaced by gravity along the channel until it abuts against an end stop of an exit extremity of the channel or against the casings that have already accumulated there. To remove a casing from the store, an exit conveyor comes into alignment with the channel concerned. A mechanism of the channel lifts the casing, causing it to move past the end stop, and the casing is then transferred onto the conveyor. Alternatively, provision can be made for the end stop to be mounted movably between an active position and a retracted position and to be maneuvered by a mechanism of the channel. In either case, however, these mechanisms that are situated at the extremities of the respective channels are expensive.